“On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.”
The late Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015, not only said this — he embodied it. Iwata is considered to be one of the biggest reasons Nintendo is such a recognizable household brand today.
But beyond that, he was beloved by Nintendo employees and fans alike. In 2011, when the Nintendo 3DS received a price slash and the company was preparing for the launch of the Wii U, Iwata and the board of directors voluntarily took a 50% pay cut to ensure their employees got paid.
Nintendo as a company also used to be more fun. While today, a Nintendo Direct is simply a method to give the viewers and investors information, back in the day Nintendo was a lot more creative with their presentations.
Reggie Fils-Aimé, president of Nintendo of America from 2006-2019, was the poster-child for this. He did a lot of fun presentations and skits and had an excellent stage presence.
From his introduction, gamers loved Fils-Aimé. Who could forget him telling the world “my body is ready” when showing off the Wii Fit Balance Board or using his trusty laser eyes on a reporter asking when Mother 3 will be localized?
I remember being physically shaken when I heard the news of his retirement, but I understood. He probably just wanted more time to play Animal Crossing: New Leaf on his Nintendo 3DS.
Sometimes, the Japanese and North American branches of the company would even collaborate. Leading up to the release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the new characters were announced intermittently.
In my view, the most memorable character announcement (aside from the initial announcement of the game itself) was that of the Mii Fighters.
The trailer begins with Fils-Aimé and Iwata facing each other in a dark, featureless room. Then they start beating the daylights out of each other. The two pick up a Wii U gamepad and decide to settle it in Smash with their analogous Mii characters.
Despite both of them leading Nintendo during a time when their main console, the Wii U, wasn’t performing very well, Iwata and Fils-Aimé have left their impacts on the gaming community.
When Iwata passed away in July of 2015, there were lines to get into his memorial service. Tributes to Iwata poured in from fans of Nintendo and gaming in general.
The tributes to Fils-Aimé’s retirement were less serious, which was probably in line with the many memes he had inspired, but the news shook the gaming industry nonetheless.
Before Iwata’s passing, I always knew off the top of my head who the president of Nintendo was. Now, I have to look it up every time (it’s Shuntaro Furukawa, by the way).
Doug Bowser has served as president of Nintendo of America since Fils-Aimé retired in 2019, but he has recently announced his plans to retire. Devon Pritchard will succeed him, making her the first female president of Nintendo of America.
The guy’s name is Bowser, yet I can only think of one fun thing I remember him doing: upon him being announced as Fils-Aimé’s successor, he thanked fans for the warm welcome while endangering everyone’s favorite pair of plumbers.
I miss the Nintendo of old. I used to love this company. Now they expect me to pay $80 for a game that takes place in a city where the player can’t even enter most of the buildings.
Nintendo used to be led by people who embodied the whimsy and creativity their games showcased. Now, they publish games not as art, but as methods of making money.
I miss feeling good about putting my money into a product I knew I would enjoy, and even if I didn’t, I knew I would experience an unparalleled work of art that no other company could hope to compare to.
I can only hope that, someday, we see Nintendo return to the company I once knew them to be.
Tolbert can be reached at [email protected]. Tell him your favorite Nintendo game from the Iwata era.
